Argosy, Grand Victoria And Rivers Casinos Get First Access To Legal Illinois Sports Betting

Written By Derek Helling on February 5, 2020Last Updated on February 7, 2020
Illinois Awards First Sportsbook Licenses To Three Casinos

The Illinois Gaming Board has selected its initial three members, with the state releasing its first three sportsbook licenses on Friday.

This announcement comes with both advantages and disadvantages. Your viewpoint on this development will be determined by whether you’re currently observing from the outside.

The race starts for the first three sportsbook licenses awarded to Illinois & rsquo winners.

Casinos in Argosy Alton, Grand Victoria (Elgin), and Rivers (Des Plaines) had a wonderful Friday. They will be the sole organizations in Illinois allowed to take bets on sports activities until the state issues additional licenses.

However, they still have a significant amount of preparation to undertake. This starts with deciding if they will partner with a merchant to handle their bookmakers.

Almost all games follow this path. It allows them to provide customers with an outstanding sports betting product without the need to build one from the ground up.

Contractors also benefit from sharing profits with the game as it grants them access to numerous potential new clients. Additionally, once the games make those offers, there is an increase in the labor force.

This entails revamping the physical space from a financial perspective. The subsequent stages of the planning process encompass hiring and educating employees, securing adherence with IGB and vendors, and concluding marketing strategies.

The state appears confident that you will complete this task immediately. There’s expectation that the three games may hit the market in time for the upcoming major sporting event.

This time, March might be furious at these three games.

According to It & rsquo, it’s possible that one or possibly all three of these operators could be up and running for the 2020 NCAA basketball tournaments. However, this might only be the case for brick-and-mortar betting.

Creating and reviewing virtual casinos usually takes more time. It’s highly doubtful that the website components of these books will be ready on time, given that the games are only a few days away.

However, Illinois has fully capitalized on its financial trafficking opportunity by procuring financial books in these areas. Both Des Plaines and Elgin can be considered as cities within Chicago, while Alton is situated in the broader St. Louis region.

However, not everyone is probably as thrilled about Friday’s news. It’s highly likely that some functions are feeling left out at the moment.

For potential bookmakers, privacy and the next 420 days

Determining the number of original applicants is impossible due to Illinois’ regulations that completely sealed the bidding process. Additionally, the reasons why the games in Argosy, Grand Victoria, and Rivers garnered attention remain unclear.

Even though other interested parties may publish permit applications, there’s no guarantee that the state will accept them. This implies that if residents of Illinois wish to place legitimate bets from their position, they face a journey ahead of them in Peoria and Springfield.

Those who don’t mind driving or live close to one of these three casinos will soon be able to place free bets. The legal sports betting landscape in Illinois is slowly but surely taking shape.

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Helling, Derek

Derek Helling is the principal writer at PlayUSA and also holds the position of manager at BetHer. He graduated from the University of Iowa in 2013 and specializes in writing about the intersection of sports, business, and law.

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